A young nude woman stands in a slightly contraposto pose within a semi-circular shaped area of sandy ground strewn with stones. She is set against a deep black completely unstructured background, similar to the neutral backdrops employed for portraits. Her supporting leg is straight, her left leg only minimally angled,
A young nude woman stands in a slightly contraposto pose within a semi-circular shaped area of sandy ground strewn with stones. She is set against a deep black completely unstructured background, similar to the neutral backdrops employed for portraits. Her supporting leg is straight, her left leg only minimally angled, her feet are slightly apart and are turned outwards. The weight of her body rests on the small of her back due to the slight turn of her rear end; her head, which is inclined to the right, is stretched forward. In comparison with the solid straight stance her figure describes an S-curve. The barely suggested curve in the central axis prepares for the graceful play of arms and hands either side. The nude beauty holds her arms at an angle and has raised the right one so that the hand grasping the veil is at the same height as her shoulders. Her left arm is only slightly angled and the hand is more obviously bent back, two fingers hold the veil. The gesticulation is motivated by this and as such does not appear too artificial: the central part of the veil falls like a festoon in soft curves between her hands, while the ends fall vertically down the sides. The sheer textile appears to be on the one hand almost transparent and does not conceal the woman's hips and vulva; on the other hand the raised part of the folds and the hem appear as delicate white high-lights, which describe calligraphic-like forms on the dark ground. The abundant jewellery and head attire of the woman is in certain contrast to the lack of any clothing. She wears a golden neck collar from which a multitude of pearl pendants hang, as well as a long golden chain, with a pendant set with an emerald and three pearls. Her voluminous hair is bound under a hairnet with lozenge-shaped gold threads; at the side the hair covered by the bonnet is combed behind her particularly large, but beautifully drawn ear. The beauty blinks from her angled almond shaped eyes at the viewer with a rather distant expression.
[Cat. Frankfurt 2005, 188-195]
- Attribution
- Lucas Cranach the Elder
Attribution
| Lucas Cranach the Elder | [Cat. Frankfurt 2005, 188-195] |
- Production date
- 1532
Production date
| 1532 | [dated] |
- Dimensions
- Dimensions of support: 37.7 x 24.5 x 0.5 cm
Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 37.7 x 24.5 x 0.5 cm
[Cat. Frankfurt 2005, 188-195]
Dimensions of painted surface: 37 x 2.8 cm
[Cat. Frankfurt 2005, 188-195]
- Signature / Dating
Artist's insignia and date bottom right: winged serpent with elevated wings and '1532'.
Signature / Dating
Artist's insignia and date bottom right: winged serpent with elevated wings and '1532'.
[Cat. Frankfurt 2005, 188-195]
- Inscriptions and Labels
Reverse of the panel:
- top third at the left: old label witha a blue plaited boarder, within this in ink: …
Inscriptions and Labels
Stamps, Seals, Labels:
Reverse of the panel:
- top third at the left: old label witha a blue plaited boarder, within this in ink: 'N. 66 Frankfurt a./M.'
- centre:
adhesive label, in black ink: 'G.1125.'
- below:
in pencil '88'
[Cat. Frankfurt 2005, 188-195]
- Owner
- Städel Museum Frankfurt a.M.
- Repository
- Städel Museum Frankfurt a.M.
- Location
- Frankfurt am Main
- CDA ID
- DE_SMF_1125
- FR (1978) Nr.
- FR246
- Persistent Link
- https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_SMF_1125/
- top third at the left: old label witha a blue plaited boarder, within this in ink: …
